Massachusetts lawmakers are continuing to negotiate a compromise on two bills aimed at expanding health coverage for the uninsured, the Boston Globe reports. The state House and Senate last year each passed legislation that would expand the state's Medicaid program, but the plans differ in the amount of coverage and funding. The House bill would require all state residents to have health insurance and enact a payroll tax on employers that do not provide coverage to their employees. The Senate plan would not create a coverage mandate for individuals, but it would require large employers to pay health costs for employees who receive coverage through the state's free-care pool. On Friday, state Sen. Richard Moore (D), the Senate's lead negotiator, said a pledge by Gov. Mitt Romney (R) to designate $200 million toward health care "helps make the employer tax less important as a funding source," adding that Senate and House conferees are "far more in agreement than disagreement on the issues." However, he added, "It's ultimately going to cost more than" $200 million. Rep. Patricia Walrath (D), the lead negotiator in the House, said the funding pledge likely would not hasten agreement on a compromise measure. House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi (D) said the $200 million is "not a substitute" for the employer tax in the House measure."It's a one-time revenue source and we need a sustainable revenue source in order to make this work," DiMasi said, adding, "I also believe that employers have to be part of the equation in some way" (Dembner, Boston Globe, 1/20).

Opinion Piece
"There are a number of things providers can do to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our health care system" and help lower health care costs in Massachusetts, James Mongan, president and CEO of Partners HealthCare, writes in a Globe opinion piece. Providers should implement electronic health records, install computerized order-entry systems and provide "consumers and purchasers of health care" with more "cost and quality data," Mongan says. Implementing "pay-for-performance" programs and disease management program also would help reduce health costs, according to Mongan (Mongan, Boston Globe, 1/23).